Quartering a Deer

Quartering your deer is a seven-step process that takes anywhere from 1 hour to 2 Â½, depending on the size of the deer and your skill with the knife. Iâ€™ve gotten to the point where I can be done, including clean up in an hour. You will need a knife, a sharpening steel, a cooler, bone saw, wax paper, and a trash can. Read on for complete instructions, or click here to watch the video.

How to Quarter Your Deer

Keep the trash can with a thick bag near your work area for scraps. If you can fit it under your deer, that is best as it catches all the drippings and youâ€™ll have less mess to deal with.

I prefer to have a boning or fillet style knife, but any sharp knife will work. You donâ€™t want a big one though.

Youâ€™ll need to think about where youâ€™re going to keep your meat cool. The meat needs to be kept between 32 and 40 degrees. It will drain some blood, so your household fridge may not be the best answer if you want to keep the family happy. If you have a dedicated fridge, thatâ€™s awesome. I use a large cooler, which line with dry ice on the bottom separated from the meat by some thick cardboard. I then lay the meat in the cooler as I quarter. If I canâ€™t get dry ice, I will use one or two bags of ice and lined butcher paper on top of that. My goal is to get the meat to 40 degrees, but keep it relatively dry. I will let the meat sit in the cooler for one to three days, depending on my schedule. The cooler also keeps the juices contained and is easy to clean after.